The Equation of Love
by Clogallie
Summary: Rima was never that good at Math. But when a certain long-haired boy is reponsible for teaching her...well, let's just say that Rima's view on Math equations will permanently change.
1. Chapter 1: The Equation of Confusion

**The **_Equation _of _**Confusion**_

**Full Summary: **Rima was never that good at Math. What happens when a familiar-looking dark-haired boy is appointed to tutor her? And Love? How do all these tie in into the story? All we know for sure is that Rima's outlook on Math will surely change.

**A/N:** Wee! Another FanFic! Of course, it's RIMAHIKO!!!! Woopee! Am I writing too much Rimahiko? (you're supposed to say no :P) I'll consider a Kutau one next...Anyways enjoy-ee! Kudos to weekends! Hasta luego! (Agh, that Spanish quiz. Ah well. I got three wrong so far) (if you don't understand, that means see you later)

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**Chapter 1****: The Equation of Confusion**

It was just another brilliant afternoon, the sun shining gallantly yet at a moderate amount, a cooling breeze taking a walk around the school, the trees dancing along with the grasses on the ground slightly swaying in the breeze along with the carnations, forget-me-nots, daisies, and tulips. Yet unfortunately, twenty-five 12th grade students were stuck inside a dull school building listening to their Math teacher ramble on about Calculus problems.

"The Law of Cosines! The Law of Sines! They're different! Very different!" the teacher exclaimed, half to himself and half to the class, who were being scorched by the summer heat. Their AC had unfortunately broken down, and though the outside had a cool breeze, none of it seemed to be blowing in into the classroom. The humidity was absorbing away the energy of all the students, particularly a specific petite blonde's.

"It's effin' hot!" the blonde hissed to her nearby seatmate, a rosette looking like she was bored to death (which she was) and using her folder, attempting to create some wind to cool herself down, yet only succeeding in fanning some warm air in her direction.

"Hang in there, Rima. Math is almost over." Her friend comforted, yet her words proved to serve as little encouragement. Rima turned back to the board, attempting to concentrate on the lesson, but suddenly seeing the whole entire board of numbers and x's and equal signs in their Math teacher's scribbled handwriting just added onto the mental pressure that was slowly building up in her mind. She averted her eyes to the clock, watching the second hand tick away. _Tick, tick, tick, tick…_there were 3 minutes of class left. Closing her notebook that she didn't bother to take notes in, she stuffed in into her bag and prepared to charge out of the humid classroom the millisecond that bell rang.

There were two minutes left, filled with the screeches of pencils meeting with paper and the teacher's constant ramblings. The blonde felt a bit more hopeful, when suddenly—

"Mashiro! Come up and answer this question!" the teacher exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Rima. Rima, who was idly staring off into mid space on her right, twisted her head back to face her teacher who was in a bad mood, evident from the red of his cheeks indicating his surrender to the heat. Rima glanced back at the board where he was pointing at a simple algebraic question that seemed to have appeared on Rima's homework yesterday…that she copied from Amu…and didn't quite understand.

"Um…" Rima said uncertainly, trying to delay time till the bell rang. Her eyes quickly glanced at the clock. There was still a minute to delay. Rima slowly got out of her seat and approached the whiteboard at a sluggish pace, the teacher slightly scowling out of irritation. He handed her a marker, at which Rima snatched and glared at the whiteboard, as if trying to scare the numbers out of their wits and make them rearrange themselves to form the correct answer. Sadly, that didn't happen.

"Mashiro, you don't know the answer, do you?" the teacher asked with a hint of accusation in his voice. Rima gulped. Their Math teacher was known as rather strict. The teacher sighed. "See me afterschool in my office." He said, a split second before the bell rang and everyone leaped out of their seats. Rima silently cursed the bell and questioned why it didn't ring a split second earlier.

"Hai." Rima said in a quiet voice to the teacher, while secretly giving him one of her death glares that he failed to notice, as he had already turned to collect his books and was walking out of the classroom. Rima groaned the moment her teacher left the room and walked towards the rosette.

"AMUUUUU!" Rima whined. Amu sighed. "Bad luck." She said in a nonchalant tone. Rima glared at her, while Amu sweat-dropped. "Um…that teacher sure is mean?" Amu stated in a questioning tone, though setting Rima in a better mood. She checked her schedule. There was a period of History, then Japanese…and then Meeting with Math teacher to talk about grades.

It was going to be a great afternoon.

**

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**

Rima timidly knocked on the door of the Math office, fidgeting with her hands holding her bag. Silently scowling at the fact that Ikuto had suddenly swept Amu away supposedly for a trip to the amusement park and left Rima to approach her Math teacher alone, she turned the door knob and silently slipped into the cooling room, approaching her teacher's desk cautiously. He was grading papers but heard her presence from her soft yet audible footsteps and spun around on his turning chair to face the quiet blonde. "Ah. Mashiro-san." He said in a much calmer tone than during class. He grabbed a nearby chair and motioned for her sit down, the blonde rather unwillingly doing so.

"So. Mashiro-san, do you want to know what your grade on the last chapter's test was? I just finished grading." The teacher remarked casually, yet in a you're-supposed-to-want- to-know tone. Rima stared at him blankly. "No." she answered simply, earning a sweat-drop from her teacher.

"It's a C+, Mashiro-san." Her teacher informed her. Rima rolled her eyes. She just told the teacher she didn't want to know, right? And yet he still told her? "Mashiro-san, you may need to consider getting a tutor." The Math teacher said seriously. Rima gulped. She knew her parents wouldn't be happy learning that she needed a Math tutor.

"Must I?" Rima asked in an almost pleading tone, giving the teacher her best puppy eyes. The teacher slightly flinched at the look, but held his ground firm. "Yes." He replied. The charade on Rima's face immediately dropped as she looked away from her teacher. "Ttch." She muttered.

"Sato-sensei." A voice from behind Rima said. Rima turned around and came face to face with that Mr. Goody Two Shoes that she absolutely despised.

_Fujisaki Nagihiko_.

"The homework for today." Nagihiko said, passing him a neat stack of papers. Sato-sensei thanked Nagihiko as Rima watched the exchange from the side. _Why does Nagihiko have to be so perfect, huh? It was always him with the perfect everything! Perfect grades, perfect family, perfect friends, perfect health, perfect body—WHOA. I mean in a non-perverted way. He…was healthy. Yes._ Rima thought in her mind, staring at Nagihiko. Nagihiko felt slightly intimidated under Rima's fierce glare and slightly sweated from the intimidation of the stare. Sato-sensei also realized Rima's glare and then turned to look at Nagihiko. "Ah yes!" he exclaimed, his two students turning their heads towards him.

"Mashiro-san, do you know what Fujisaki-san's grade is right now?" Sato-sensei asked in another you're-supposed-to-want-to-know tone. Rima looked away. "No." she replied simply, earning sweat-drops from Nagihiko. Sato-sensei sighed. "It's an A+." he said anyway.

"So?" Rima questioned, feeling quite out of the loop about what Nagihiko's grades had to do with her own. Her teacher's lips curled up into a small grin.

"Fujisaki-san will be tutoring you your Math." He said. Rima choked on her saliva while Nagihiko's eyes bulged open. "WHAT?" both of them screeched simultaneously, turning their heads towards their Math teacher. He looked away, whistling an innocent tone. "Mashiro-san, do you want to fail Math and let me contact your parents?" Sato-sensei asked. Rima scowled. "No." she said in a quiet voice. "And Fujisaki-san, you'll be willing to do me a favor, won't you?" he asked in an oh-so-innocent voice that teachers never had. Nagihiko gulped. "Alright…" he said hesitantly. Suddenly, their teacher stood up and clapped his hands together.

"Alright! Then you can start now. Go! Anywhere! Classroom, café, or even homes!" he exclaimed, pushing the two of them out of the Math office, shutting the door after them after bidding them farewell. The two bedazzled students stared at the closed Math office door, with a sign saying "MATH=4+3v*3r" on it slightly shaking from the sudden movement of the door. Finally, Rima sighed. "Great. Thanks for getting me into this mess." She scowled. Nagihiko looked at her in disbelief.

"What? I didn't do anything!" he defended himself. Rima rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right. If you hadn't come in when Sato-sensei was talking about me needing a tutor, naturally, he wouldn't think of you." Nagihiko scoffed at the lame excuse.

"If _you_ weren't getting bad grades in the first place, I wouldn't need to tutor you!" Nagihiko claimed. Rima glared.

"If you didn't get so good grades, you wouldn't be chosen to tutor me!" Rima exclaimed. Nagihiko opened his mouth to look for a comeback but none came in mind. Reluctantly, he side-glared at Rima and closed his mouth, his lips tugging down into a slight frown. The two of them stood in silence in front of the Math office door.

"Fine." Nagihiko finally said. Rima blinked, turning towards the violet-haired boy standing next to her. "Huh?" she asked. Nagihiko sighed irritably.

"I'll tutor you. Let's go get our books." Nagihiko said, taking Rima's hand and turning to walk down the halls, basically dragging a reluctant Rima behind him. But she wasn't reluctant that Nagihiko was tutoring her; rather, she was reluctant of being seen holding hands with him. She tried forming her words, but all she could form were broken phrases of incoherent mutterings that Nagihiko couldn't hear. Shrugging off the reason of her reddened cheeks as the sudden pressure added to her now that she had a Math tutor, she started to walk to keep up with Nagihiko's rather wide strides. They reached the library, as Nagihiko smiled slightly at the librarian, and she smiled back. _Nerd that visits library often_, Rima thought silently to herself. For some reason, she didn't blurt this insult out, like she usually did. She kept that thought untouched and pushed it to the back of her mind.

Leading her behind shelves and shelves of books Rima probably would never even recognize their existence if Nagihiko wasn't dragging her around, he led her to a desk, just fit for two people, and they sat down, Nagihiko heaving a deep sigh.

"Na—Nagihiko." Rima stuttered, unsure why she was having difficulty controlling her speech. He turned towards Rima and smiled. "Yes?" he asked politely. Rima's blush slightly reddened, but due to her head facing down and her blonde locks covering her face from Nagihiko's view, the long-haired boy failed to notice.

"Y—your hand." Rima finally stuttered out. Nagihiko looked down at his hand and noticed his fingers were still intertwined with Rima's. His cheeks tinted a slight pink as he hurriedly let go of Rima's petite hand from his grasp and looked away from Rima. "Go—gomen." He managed. Rima gulped, thinking of how to break the awkward silence that had formed around them. She finally looked up, her blonde locks falling to her sides, and pulled out her Math textbook from her book bag. "Wanna begin?" she asked. Nagihiko looked at the textbook and nodded. "Sure." He said, as he helped her flip through the pages.

"Alright. We just learned this today. Do you understand all of it?" Nagihiko asked caringly. Rima blinked at the pages, seeming to conjure up faint memories of each, thus nodding her head. Nagihiko blinked. _Perhaps tutoring won't be so bad…_he thought. He pointed out an exercise problem for Rima to do, as she pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and started scribbling on it, covering it from Nagihiko's sight by bending her body to serve as a wall. Nagihiko looked around and located the clock. It was 4:18. Perhaps he'd be able to go home at 4:30, if Rima really already knew everything.

"I'm done." Rima said. Nagihiko turned his head back, surprised by his speed. She showed him his paper as he took it and looked at what she had scribbled on her paper:

_MASHIRO RIMA—LOVER OF COMEDY'S PROPERTY! DON'T TOUCH UNLESS YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THE BALA-BALANCE CORRECTLY AND NOT SHAME THE COMEDY GODS!_

_Math Question #1__ Use the Law of Cosines to solve for the hypotenuse C._

_Answer:_

_c²=a²+b²-2ab cos(__γ)_

_Then…_

_I don't know…_

Nagihiko sweat-dropped at the "derived" answer. He turned towards Rima, pointing at the question. "I thought you said you understood what we learned today. We learned this first thing in the lesson." Nagihiko said calmly. Rima blinked, struggling to conjure up the memory, but remembered she was complaining in her mind that it was too hot and cursing the AC for breaking down for the first half of Math class.

"I was busy cursing the AC for breaking down." Rima said truthfully, while Nagihiko sweat-dropped some more. He then took the pencil from her hand. "Here, you do it like this…" he said, starting to draw out triangles and equal signs and explaining all their relationships, as Rima looked on attentively.

"…and so in the end, _x_ equals √94.9, which is about 9.73. Understand?" Nagihiko asked. Rima blinked, slightly understanding about how you plug in some thingies and get some other thingies. She nodded, and Nagihiko told her to work on another problem. Rima sighed and started scribbling once more.

After a moment, she showed Nagihiko her answer. Expectantly, he looked at her answer, and sighed, much to his dismay. Rima had just copied how to solve the first question for the answer for the second gave an inward sigh. It was going to be a _long_ day. He started drawing circles and equations and lines and explaining things that Rima didn't understand. Though one equation stood out in her mind:

Not listening in class + needing a Math tutor = not understanding a crap your tutor Nagihiko is telling you

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**A/N: Just a note, I'm not in 12th grade, so obviously, I'm not sure what you learn. And if what I said about Math was anything wrong, forgive please. I specifically researched the Law of Sines and Law of Cosines for this!! Ah well. Hope you liked it!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Equation of Jealousy

**Hope-chan: I'M BAAACCKKKKKKK! (and I've decided to do this convo thingy. I'll keep them short though).**

**Rima: Obviously.**

**Hope-chan: -_- Anyways, I'm so happy! My internet broke down for two days and I realized my reliance on it! Here's the chapter of the week! I'll be updating Tears of Venus tomorrow or something. Gotta go study for Math chapter test later. *sigh***

**Nagihiko: Cheer up, Hope-chan!**

**Hope-chan: If only you were real and could tutor me, Nagi, like you did to Rima...*sniff* Though I made that all up...**

**Rima&Nagihiko: -_-|||**

**Hope-chan: Rima, you may have the honors.**

**Rima: Hope-chan does not own anything from Shugo Chara! Nor the following Math question she got from the internet.**

**Nagihiko: Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2****: The Equation of Jealousy**

"I still don't get it." Rima said. The two had already been having tutoring classes for a little more than a month. Rima was making slight improvements, picking her grade up from a C+ to a B-, but it was still hanging on the border of changing back to a C+ if Rima loosened up. It was already soon time for the Year Finals. Rima needed at least an 80% to keep her score at a B-.

Nagihiko sighed, pointing at the following algebraic problem.

"First, we draw out all that we were given, with the intersecting lines and Point P. Then, we draw a circle of radius XP with center at X. Then, we construct a perpendicular at P'. The intersection of this with the previously drawn perpendicular defines the center of the circle sought. After that, draw the circle of radius P-C with center at C." Nagihiko explained, drawing various lines across the intersecting lines he'd drawn, causing Rima's head to go dizzy from the crisscrosses intertwining across the piece of paper. She groaned and threw her head back over the chair, her blonde locks freely falling down. "UGH! I don't get it!" Rima exclaimed. It was Thursday; tomorrow was their last Year Final: Math.

Nagihiko sighed. "Perhaps we should take a break." He commented. Rima nodded. "Can we go to that café again? The one with the blueberry cheesecake?" she asked. Nagihiko smiled and stood up, as Rima put away her textbook and followed him out of the library. Perhaps it was the tutoring, perhaps it was something else, but Rima's hatred towards him was slowly dissolving and melting away…but—

"Pay for me, Purplehead. Or else I'll tug on your hair." Rima hissed when they were at the cashiers. Nagihiko sweat-dropped and handed the cashier an extra 200 yen, his pet peeve making him slightly flinch at the remembrance of the last incident.

Thus, as you can see, of course, that didn't mean Rima didn't hate him.

The two sat contently in the small café, Rima munching on her blueberry cheesecake. Nagihiko stared idly at the blonde attempting to cut off a small piece of her cheesecake with her fork. She ate her cheesecake happily when she looked up at and saw Nagihiko looking directly at her, causing her to flush slightly pink, looking down and focusing on her cake. Nagihiko let out a small laugh.

"You should look at yourself when you blush." He commented. At the mention, her blush slightly deepened, yet not enough for the dark-haired boy to notice. Rima scowled. "What, are you saying I look weird when I blush?" she asked. Somewhere, though, she felt a deep stab in her heart. She shrugged off the pain and concentrated on eating her cheesecake and listening to Nagihiko talk.

"No. In fact, you look rather cute." He commented. Rima choked on her cheesecake and a fury of coughs ensued, as Nagihiko hurriedly rushed over and helped pat her back. Rima calmed down and swallowed the lob of cheesecake, glaring at Nagihiko. "Thanks a lot for making me choke." She said, as Nagihiko laughed nervously, returning to his seat, as a silence ensued, with Rima concentrating on her cheesecake and Nagihiko concentrating on staring outside the large glass pane that showed them to the outside.

"Don't you…need to study?" Rima asked. Nagihiko turned his head from the window, facing Rima who was looking down at her dessert. "Hmm?" he asked, not quite catching what the blonde had muttered just a while ago. Rima gulped.

"Don't you need to study too?" Rima asked in a louder voice, not wanting to look up into his eyes. For some reason that she herself wasn't quite sure of, every time she stared into his eyes, they seemed to smolder away and change from a normal yellow to a pool of honey slowly flowing through his eyes, making her twitch and squirm with nervousness and incapable of changing her glance.

"Nagi?" she asked timidly, looking up from her cheesecake when he made no response. He was staring directly in her eyes. Again, Rima fell into his trap like an innocent by-passing insect, getting caught in the sticky honey and incapable of averting her eyes. After a short stare, Nagihiko smiled.

"It's fine. I'm studying while I review with you." Nagihiko said. Rima finally looked away from him and slightly towards the side, finishing up the last few crumbs of her cheesecake, slowly savoring it.

"I'm done." Rima said quietly. Nagihiko stood up and so did Rima, as the two of them walked out of the café and back to the library that was open to the students till 12:00.

"Alright. Ready to challenge those laws we first studied?" Nagihiko asked after the two had resumed their original spots. Rima silently groaned, looking onto her now opened textbook. She turned towards Nagihiko, making care of not staring directly into his eyes, but rather through her peripheral vision. He smiled encouragingly, and Rima smiled a small smile back. She could do this.

She could.

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"Alright. I think you're basically ready." Nagihiko said, closing the textbook. It was already 11:45, and the librarian had announced she was closing up the library in fifteen minutes. Rima let out a sigh of relief, glad that she was done reviewing. It had been tiresome, yet somehow, she felt it wasn't as dry as she had thought it was. Nagihiko handed her a sheet of paper.

"Since we've already gone through all the problems in the book, I've made up some for you to practice on tonight if you want to." Nagihiko said, as Rima took the paper. On the loose-leaf were numbers and equal signs and coordinate planes, all drawn out carefully with a felt tip pen, portraying care and precision. Rima smiled. "Thanks Nagihiko." She said.

"Oh hey! Nagi! And Rima!" a voice came from behind the two exhausted 8th graders. Turning around, they saw their friend, none other than the rosette Hinamori Amu, with her usual X-clips hanging in her hair and holding what looked like a Math book as well. Nagihiko stood up from his chair and went to greet her. "Amu-chan!" he said cheerfully, as he helped her carry her books. The two immediately started chatting and before long, they burst out into laughter.

Rima watched the two's exchange from the side and couldn't help but feeling a bit left out…and jealous. Jealous of…Nagihiko of course. She wanted to talk enthusiastically with her _best_ friend. That's what the blonde thought, or rather forced herself to think. She wouldn't allow any other ideas to probe into her mind. Standing up and pushing the chair back in, she momentarily got the two's attention.

"Thanks for the tutoring Nagihiko. I'll see you two tomorrow." Rima said quietly, yet loud enough for the two to hear.

"Oh. Do you need me to walk you home? It's already dark." Nagihiko mentioned, looking outside the window. _Yes_, Rima thought silently in her mind. Yet her mouth seemed to move on its own.

"No, I'm fine. My house isn't _that_ far anyways. You can walk Amu home or something." Rima commented, feeling another familiar stab in her heart. Nagihiko's smile slightly fell, yet quickly twisted back up into a grin, turning towards Amu. "Alright. We'll be leaving in a while though. Are you sure you don't want to wait for us?" Nagihiko asked, as if pleading for Rima to stay.

_But all I'd be would be a nuisance_. Rima thought. She wasn't the brightest, but she wasn't completely dense. She saw how Nagihiko always acted around Amu, caring for her, worrying for her welfare, understanding, helping her, and it was rather obvious that he probably loved her. Rima wasn't dumb, after all. "No thanks. I need to get going. Mama is waiting for me. Ja ne, Amu, Nagihiko. Good luck on the Math Year Final." Rima said in a rather flat tone, quickly turning around and walking out of the library.

She walked out, stopping under a small roof slightly protruding out of the school building, and realized it was raining. Somehow, her whole body felt cold. Shivering cold. A heart-piercing cold. Her heart was cold, her nerves were cold, her sweat was cold, her blood was ice cold. Continuing to walk into the rain, the coldness that was poured upon her didn't seem to add to the chill. She walked at a slow pace, treading through ponds of water, as a flash of lightning crashed through the sky.

_BAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…_

Thunder struck, as Rima broke down and started darting down the wet road, without a single person in sight. The dim streetlights barely served their purpose, as Rima ran down and across the streets, finally reaching her home. She got her key out from her book bag and trembling, she stuck the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door, getting herself into the room. She slammed the door shut behind her and stood there, staring into mid space. A tear rolled down her cheek, yet she didn't know it was a tear. She thought it was just another raindrop falling down from her slick wet hair. Finally, she heaved a sigh. Walking to her room, she slammed the door shut and took a nice warm shower, slightly rejuvenating her shivering body. Switching on a pale-colored cardigan sweatshirt and a pair of thick jeans, she got out of the bathroom and sat next to the heater in her room. Remembering the worksheet Nagihiko had given her, she quickly checked her book bag for any damage caused to the papers within. Not much damage was caused, except for everything in the bag having a wet bottom right-hand corner.

Grabbing out the paper Nagihiko had given her, she wrote her name on the top and quickly glanced through the questions. Working slowly yet steadily, occasionally checking her textbook for reference, she flipped to the backside and finished the 20 questions in about an hour. Perhaps it was due to something else bugging her that caused her slow progress. Another equation Rima had formed on her own:

Friend + Guy friend = A heart-piercing pain

Though Rima wasn't quite sure how the answer was that, she just _knew_. She didn't know why, but knew it was the answer.

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**Rima: "BAAAAAAAA..."? You came up with that for thunder?**

**Hope-chan: *smiles sheepishly* Err...yeah. You know...the thunder goes BAAAAAAAA...**

**Rima&Nagihiko: *sweat-drop***

**Hope-chan: Anyways, hope you liked this. I liked it better than the previous one. A bit more fluff. Yay!**

**Rima: Baka.**

**Hope-chan: Stop acting like Hotaru (sp?) from Gakuen Alice (do not own)**

**Nagihiko: *whisper-you're supposed to shoot her with a baka gun now-whisper***

**Rima: *nods and mysteriously gets out a gun* BAKA.**

**Hope-chan: OW! Anyways, hope you liked it! *runs out of room with Rima and Nagihiko following her***

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	3. Chapter 3: The Equation of Rejection

**The next chappie of The Equation of Love! Whee~~I'm sorry if it's not written as well and it's rather short. Cause I wanna leave all the drama for the LAST CHAPTER (which is the next). Yes, this story is ending soon.**

**Thanks for all the reviewers. I'm sorry I haven't replied your reviews. From now on, I will! I WILL~~~~~**

**Alright! Hope you enjoy!**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! in any way)**

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**Chapter 3****: The Equation of Rejection**

Rima tried to shrug off any extra thoughts about the awkward pain to concentrate on the last problem and then go to bed. Stifling a yawn, she sighed tiredly, thinking about giving up. She really wanted to go to sleep. But determination, from somewhere, made her hang in there to read the last...bonus question?

_Bonus Question! If you're smart, you'll be able to solve it :)___

_If n=10v__³__+r, what does r equal?_

Rima looked at the question curiously. What in the—they hadn't gone over these kinds of things! Three variables? Without any other given conditions? Rima blinked, reading the question once more to check if she'd read it wrongly. Grudgingly, she slightly switched the formula around and wrote that as the answer. Heaving a deep sigh, she checked the clock. It was nearing 2:00. She needed to go to bed. Washing up and hugging her favorite teddy bear, she soon fell asleep, with a strange tug on her heart that felt rather…painful.

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"Rima!" "Rima-chan!" Rima turned around from her way to school and saw Amu and Nagihiko running over towards her. _Together_, she added silently in her mind.

Another familiar tug on her heart, this time a bit stronger than last night's.

"Ohayo." Rima said flatly. Amu tried keeping her "cool & spicy" act up, but was failing miserably as she fretted over some problem that Nagihiko had mentioned he was asking the teacher this morning. Rima suddenly remembered about the "worksheet" he'd given her.

"Nagihiko. I finished the worksheet. But…" Rima trailed off, handing him the folded paper. He opened it up and gazed through the answers, nodding at each of them approvingly. Though his gaze turned quite blank at the look of this last one. Rima slightly flinched.

"I don't know how to do the last one, so I just wrote _r=n-10v__³_ or _r=-10v³+n. _What's the correct answer, Nagihiko?" Rima asked. It was the moment before the Year Finals and she needed to know how to do that if it was really appearing. Pleading, she looked at Nagihiko's face, though he was simply staring at the worksheet.

Nagihiko's stiffened figure slightly loosened up as he turned to gaze at Rima, with an edge of sorrow Rima failed to catch. "Nothing. It was…just...for fun." He finally stated. Rima looked at him weirdly, but Nagihiko only smiled. "I'm going to ask Sato-sensei my question first, so…ja. See you in a bit." Nagihiko said, returning Rima her work and sauntering off in front of the two girls. "Nagi, wait—" but Nagihiko continued walking as if he hadn't heard Amu at all. Amu's mouth showed a slight frown.

"Is something wrong with Nagihiko?" Rima asked, truly concerned. Amu turned towards the paper in Rima's hands. "Give me that." Amu said rather aggressively, as Rima submitted and handed her the paper. Amu immediately turned towards the last question at the back and stared at it for a moment as the two continued walking slowly to the school building. Her eyes widened and she turned towards Rima with a hint of accusation in her glare.

"BAKA!" she exclaimed loudly. Rima jumped back at her sudden outburst, trying to keep her poker face on but the watering of her eyes betrayed her. Amu didn't seem to notice and continued.

"Read the question carefully!" Amu exclaimed, thrusting the worksheet in front of Rima. She looked over the bonus question again, unable of solving the answer. Pleadingly, she looked at Amu for guidance. "I really don't know how to solve it." Rima said, almost in a tone of sorrow. Amu scowled.

"No, baka! That's not what Nagi wants! Read the topic again!" Amu exclaimed. Rima's eyes turned back to the paper.

"Bonus Question!" Rima said, reading off the question. "If you're smart, you'll be able to solve it. Smiley face." Rima said, looking up at Amu. "This means…I'm not smart?" Rima asked in almost a fearful tone. Amu rolled her eyes.

"You are _really_ dense! 'If you're smart, you'll be able to solve it.' Evidently, you aren't smart enough to realize that this problem is incapable of solving and is actually a _secret code!_" Amu exclaimed. The two 12th graders slowly walked into the school building, conversing about the question still.

"Secret code?" Rima questioned, actually feeling rather dense. "What secret code?" Rima asked. Amu sighed irritably, walking over to Rima and pointing at the equation.

"N. This stands for a person with their name starting with N. Now, who can you think of whose name starts with an N?" Amu asked. Rima paused, thinking over the question. _N…_she thought to herself.

"Nagihiko?" she answered hesitantly. Amu gave a "finally!" sigh. "Yes!" she exclaimed, pointing to the R. "Now, whose name starts with an R?" Amu asked once again. Rima thought about it. Whose name started with an R? Amu, Yaya, Kukai, Tadase, Nagihiko, Ikuto, Utau, Kairi…who else?

"Me?" she answered, realizing her own name fitted into the requirements. Amu looked like she'd finally trained a 3-year old toddler who refused to use the bathroom to a good potty-trained baby.

"Yes! Now, what does 10v³ mean?" Amu asked. Rima frowned, thinking about it. Some…velocity formula?

"NO!" Amu exclaimed loudly, her emotions starting to get the better of her. Rima realized she must have said aloud her thoughts. Amu heaved a deep sigh.

"What letter does '1' look like?" Amu asked. Rima thought about it. "Lower-case 'L'?" she asked. Amu nodded. "And '0'?" This one was easy. "O." Rima responded. Amu nodded. "V you know. Now, what does '3' look like? Hint: internet language!" Amu said. Rima stopped walking, right in front of her classroom, pondering over the thought. 3…internet…

"'E'?" Rima asked. Amu made motions with her hand, as if for Rima to continue. "So that means…when you translate the whole thing…Nagihiko equals...love…plus…Rima…" Rima's voice trailed off in the end, to an almost inaudible whisper. "Th—then!" Rima exclaimed, realizing her mistake. "Then that means…didn't I just reject him? When I said r=-10v³+n? Meaning that I didn't lo—_love him_?" Rima's voice turned back down to a whisper in the end.

"Go find him!" Amu exclaimed. Rima hesitated. The Year Finals was starting soon. She couldn't miss it…could she?

"Still thinking about the Year Finals? Think! Without Nagi's help, you wouldn't even be here!" Amu exclaimed, reading Rima's mind. Rima realized the truth in Amu's words. She was just about to decide to go when another thought stopped her dead in her tracks. Amu sighed in irritation again. "Now what?" she asked. Rima gulped.

"I…I think we're over-thinking it. I mean…it's not possible that he loves me…" Rima said quietly, facing the ground and letting her butterscotch locks serve as a wall between herself and the world. Amu on the side blinked, staring at her dim-witted friend. "How can he not love you?" Amu asked, as if it was the most commonly known fact of the world that appeared in every encyclopedia on the page RIMAHIKO.

"He…doesn't he…love you?" Rima asked hesitantly. Amu had no reply.

Silence engulfed the two friends, as neither made the notion of saying anything or moving around. Rima gulped, clenching her fists. The same tug on her heart, just like the tug last night, and this morning, pulled fiercefully at her heart, this time, causing excruciating mental pain to her. Yet a numbness, Rima's own immune system against love, proved its use and blocked out the pain for her. Finally, after a whole minute of silence, Rima took it to mean their conversation was over. She turned to enter the classroom, quietly, when she heard Amu mutter something under her breath.

"Baka." Amu said in a quiet voice, yet in a scarier tone than when she yelled it. "He of course loves me." Amu said shamelessly. Rima winced, thinking Nagihiko might have already confessed. "But," Amu continued, "he loves me like a sister. Like someone he cares for a lot. You, on the other hand, he loves. Romantically. Passionately. As a future lover." Amu said.

For a split moment, Rima felt lost. Suddenly, after Amu confessed Nagihiko _did_ love her, she suddenly said he loved more than one person. He loved Amu, _and _Rima. Differently. Yes, love could have many forms: family love, sibling love, heck, even patriotic love! And...actual love, that heart-piercing, heart-warming, heart-loving love...was what Nagihiko felt for Rima?

Rima didn't know what to feel, either trusting her logic, telling her those possibilities weren't possible, or believing her intuition, telling her that every word rolling off of Amu's tongue were words of truth.

The warning bell, signaling that class was about to start in 2 minutes, ringed. Amu sighed.

"You need to make this decision. I can't influence you anymore. I need to go to class. As for you…" Amu trailed off, turning to walk away, "think carefully about your decision. It's gonna change more than one person's life." Amu said, rather ominously, and walking off towards her classroom. Rima stared at her retreating figure, pondering over her decision.

_Should I go after him?_ Intuition and logic fought, logic voting for no and concentrating on the Year Finals, with intuition begging yes, telling her that this was the love of her life she was abandoning.

The internal conflict raged on, as the bell signaling the start of class rang. Rima had long wandered away from the door of her classroom, idly wandering down the lab hall she knew was desolate. Her decision…?

_I'll tutor you. Let's go get our books._

_Oh hey! Nagi!_

_You should look at yourself when you blush. __You look rather cute._

_Amu-chan!_

_Do you need me to walk you home?_

_You can walk Amu home or something._

_Nothing. It was…just for fun._

_Rima-chan!_

_Nagihiko equals love…plus…Rima…_

_BAKA!_

_Love…plus…Rima…_

_Plus…Rima…_

_Didn't I just reject him?__I didn't lo—love him?_

Who would win the raging internal battle? Rima thought to herself, as her Math knowledge flooded back into her mind momentarily.

Negative love + N = Me rejecting him

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**Dense, dense Rima. It's rather ironic how this idea came in mind. We were having Math class. I was bored. I doodled in my notebook for ideas (hidden from my deskmate, of course. He wasn't quite the nosy type, thank goodness). Suddenly, inspiration struck. I'd read about how Rima was bad at Math in multiple FanFics. How about...she's bad at Math but good at making equations? About life? And love? And...somehow it needed to turn out into a Rimahiko FanFic, cause I'm a Rimahiko fan (high-five, fellow fans!), so I thought, as usual, Nagihiko, the smarty, would teach Rima Math. And the whole _n=10v³+r _came from me thinking how Nagihiko would confess. Actually, in my opinion, he's the type to confess through letters, writings, indirectly.**

**And that's the birth of this short inspiration.**

**Anyways, sorry for making Amu OOC. She rather reminds me of Hotaru (sp?) from Gakuen Alice (do not own), the "baka" part.**

**(Amu: BAKA! *shoot me with Baka Bazooka*)**

**Oww! Alright, please review! I will start replying to reviews from now on! Whee~~wait for the last chapter's update some time during the week if the English project, Science quiz, Math quiz, Science test, and Spanish quiz don't kill me first.**

**~~*Hope-chan*~~**


	4. Chapter 4: The Equation of Love

**Wahh! I'm so sorry for the late update! And I'm even more ashamed to say that this story ending is rather cheesy...no plot twists. I tried making someone come in and try to rape Rima and Nagi, our hero, jumps in and saves her, but then I realized something rather important.**

**1. They were at a school. Would someone so dumb attempt that at school? (rhetorical. the answer is NO)**

**2. It was freakin' day time, for day time's sake! Who would do that sort of thing?**

**So that idea went to waste. And so, a cheesy ending comes. I _tried_ to make it fluffy, but I had difficulty. I'm really sorry guys. Hope you'll like it though!**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! in any way)**

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**Chapter 4****: The Equation of Love**

Intuition proved to be the winner of the close battle. She looked up from the ground and looked at the clock. It was 8:10. The Year Finals were starting in five minutes. Rima raced back to her classroom, slamming open the door. "Is Nagihiko here?" Rima asked the surprised class. Before anyone had time to respond, Rima quickly surveyed the room, failing to catch sight of the familiar purple-haired boy, and slammed the door shut, racing out of the room as suddenly as she had appeared. The whole class blinked but returned to their own studies, not minding Rima at all.

Rima ran up and down the stairs. No one was in the halls now; they were all either in a classroom or their office. Freely, she dashed down the halls. No, he wasn't in the Biology Lab. No, he wasn't in the Math office. No, he wasn't at the basketball courts. Where could he be?

A sudden inspiration shot through her mind. _Perhaps…there._ Rima thought, locating the destination and maneuvering through the school building to find the library. Not minding the fact that the librarian wasn't at her desk, she charged straight at the place they'd studied yesterday, and sure enough, found Nagihiko lying his head on the desk, his arms around his head.

"Nagihiko." Rima stated simply. The fair-skinned boy turned around, his purple mane loyally following his head, and it seemed like his face almost forced a grin up just for Rima. It pained her to see such a fake smile.

"Rima-chan." He stated simply in response. Again stuck in his sticky trap, she stared deeply into his eyes. Though this time, they weren't smoldering; they had hardened and were stiffening up. It pained her further to see such lifeless eyes.

"I—" Rima cut herself off, unsure on how to continue. What was she supposed to say? _I love you too? What does that question mean? What are you trying to say?_

"What are you doing here? The Year Finals have already started." Rima said instead, much to her own mind's protest. Nagihiko smiled weakly, turning his head away from Rima to face the window behind the desk, a small breeze picking up his hair as it billowed in the wind.

"You won't be able to understand." Nagihiko said, his voice portraying sorrow, pain, and a hint of accusation that Rima took harshly. She slightly flinched looking at his silky long hair boys shouldn't be able to have. Silence once more occupied the atmosphere surrounding the two students skipping their Year Finals, when finally, Rima broke it.

"The question." She said warily, trying to approach the topic cautiously. Nagihiko slightly flinched, yet composed himself so quickly that Rima didn't notice. His shoulders slightly scooted up, his breathing became slightly shallower, and Rima could almost feel his smile dropping down to an emotionless face.

"I said already, it was just for fun." Nagihiko repeated in a cold voice. Rima felt the tears watering in her eyes. He was never so cold. He wasn't _supposed _to be cold. That was Rima's job. He was supposed to be kind, and helping, and gentle, and smiling…smiling…

"I'm sorry." Rima said. Out of all the words she could have chosen to express her feelings, her mouth just_ had_ to say those. She mentally banged her head on a wall and watched Nagihiko. He didn't seem to change his body posture, though his shoulders slightly slouched down.

"For? You didn't do anything wrong, Rima-chan." Why? Rima thought to herself. Why this time, when he called her name, it was so…dead? Lifeless? Cold? It used to have its own special ring, its own special melody that created a short song, that suddenly became only dead, flat words.

"I—I'm sorry. I'm awfully dense. I don't get stuff easily." Rima said. Nagihiko made no motion of turning around, keeping his back to Rima. He gave a sigh.

"I said already, you didn't do anything wrong." Nagihiko said. For some reason, those words shot at Rima's heart, aching even more than when he was talking enthusiastically with Amu. Finally, Rima broke down.

"I did! I did _everything_ wrong! I didn't know what it meant! I only thought of it as another Math question you gave me! It's all my fault! If only I'd been smarter, I would have realized that the question meant—" Rima cut herself off, unable of summoning up the words in front of the one who had supposedly confessed to her.

Finally, Nagihiko stood up. "There's no need to force yourself into something. I understand." Nagihiko said. Rima stared at his figure, tall, lean, yet fragile and delicate, as if Rima touched him right now, he'd shatter. Perhaps emotionally, he was already so. His words had already pierced to the very core of Rima's heart, attacking the place where her true emotions swarmed. Her emotions attacked, her body thus made a response: tears. One tear trickled out of her eyes, and then another, and then another and another till Rima just stood there, silently crying to herself, staring at the boy in front of her, his back still facing her.

"Y—you don't." Rima choked on her sobs. Nagihiko turned around and seemed slightly taken aback by Rima's state. He took a step, approaching to help her, yet froze. He clenched his fists and stood in place, his head facing the ground and his bangs covering his eyes. Rima stared at him. Why? Why was he treating her so? Didn't he…_love_ her? The two stood, Rima staring at Nagihiko and Nagihiko staring at the ground.

"I—I love you." Rima whispered, choking over her sobs. Nagihiko's head shot up, looking into Rima's amber orbs, glistening from the tears she'd shed. For a moment, Rima thought she saw the honey churning in Nagihiko's eyes once more, but immediately, they darkened yet again.

"I hate liars." Nagihiko said in a harsh voice. The words shot like an arrow at the bull's eye: Rima's heart, as her legs gave her away and she collapsed down onto the ground. Her tears increased at a fast pace.

"Why do you not believe me? I truly mean what I was saying! Do you really think I'm ly—" Rima suddenly stopped, as Nagihiko also dropped down to the ground and approached Rima's face. Rima stared at the figure in front of her, as Nagihiko, slightly tremblingly, took his hand and tucked some of Rima's hair behind her ear. His smile portrayed a sorrowful happiness, as he leaned forward to give Rima a small peck on her lips.

"I love you…so I'm letting you go." Nagihiko whispered into Rima's ears. Her sobs stopped for a while so she could clearly hear Nagihiko's words. The moment he stood up, the sobs started again.

"No." Rima said in a quiet voice, yet Nagihiko managed to pick them up. He stopped walking and froze in place, yet didn't turn around. Rima remained on the ground, her back to his. "No." she said, repeating herself, slightly louder this time. Nagihiko made no response.

"NO!" Rima exclaimed, standing up and turning around. "I don't care if you're letting me go. Cau—cause I'm not letting you go, no matter what. I've made mistakes before, various times. But I always thought that I could make up for them. Will…will you forgive my mistake, Nagihiko?" Rima asked in a desperate tone. If he didn't…she didn't know what she would do. Nagihiko hesitated, but finally turned around.

"Are you lying?" Nagihiko asked, more in a hopeful tone than an accusing tone. Rima gulped.

"No." she said firmly, staring right into his eyes. The honey was melting away, showing a tear that escaped from his eyes and trickled down his cheek. Nagihiko embraced Rima into a hug, a tight one at that.

"I love you." Nagihiko whispered proudly into Rima's ears. Rima giggled at the tickle of his breath.

"I love you too." Rima said. Content with remaining in the embrace, the two remained quiet for a moment.

"You know," Rima began, "I've been making up a lot of equations recently. Can you help me think of one for love?" Rima asked curiously, since she really couldn't think of anything. Nagihiko laughed.

"Silly Rima. If you're solving for Love, my answer would be no solution. Because love cannot be expressed." Nagihiko said deeply. Rima nodded, as the couple shared at passionate kiss.

Question: Solve for 3

Answer: Love has no solution.

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**Dargh. I felt like I coulda done a better job. But never mind. Hope you liked it! Sorry for the cheesy (and short) ending. -_-**

**That's it for this story! Whee~~happy ending! Hope you liked it!**

**~~*Hope-chan*~~**


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